[Opinion] Madonna

A woman in military uniform throws a grenade into the lap of George W. Bush who uses it to light a cigar, and says, `F**k it!.` Then the screen becomes filled with blood-covered Iraqi children. It is a scene from Madonna`s new music video `American Life.`

“This is the most shocking anti-war and anti-Bush statement ever to come from the show business world,” said online news website the Drudge Report. Madonna, who has been known for her sex-appealing images over the last two decades, is now delivering a strong anti-war message.

Many pop fans still remember her as the provocative woman in `Like a Virgin` wearing lacy underwear, a pearl necklace and cross-shaped accessories. Then, she sang `Like a Prayer’ before a burning cross, wearing black underwear. She also published her photo album titled `Sex.` She delivered her message that `women can boast their beautiful bodies just as they boast their brains` through a series of controversial music videos, as explained in her biography `Madonna Sexual Life.’

After giving birth to a child, she materialized a motherly image of the universe in `Frozen.` Then came `Intervention,` a story about love of family, and `Nothing Fails,` which explored the world of religious meditation. She is indeed a woman of great resources.

Wishing to become a great dancer, Madonna came to New York from a rural town in Michigan with only $35 in her pocket. At an interview before her debut, she answered when a reporter asked about her dream that she wanted to rule the world. She has the talent of reading the latest trends in music, art and history, and creates commercial products out of it. She is almost a genius when it comes to riding the currents of the time and keeping her professionalism.

As a mother of two children, she once said appearing on `Larry King Live`, ˝my first priority is always my family.˝ Her mother died when she was only six and she had long been yarning for her father`s love since then. This may be why she says she wants to be remembered as a good mother rather than a pop diva or a successful artist. And like Madonna`s, every mother`s heart in this world must bleed for the innocent children in Iraq.

yuri@donga.com